John Hogg (Queensland, Deputy-President) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is the minister aware that President Hu also stated on the weekend:

Developed countries should … strictly abide by their emission reduction targets set forth in the Kyoto protocol.

Can the minister confirm that Australia will fail to meet our generous Kyoto target of 108 per cent, even with a large offset of land clearing? Given the government’s failure to meet that target, and its refusal to ratify Kyoto, isn’t it understandable that countries like China are sceptical about the Howard government’s commitment to tackling climate change?